Creative competition at Scrapfest 2011

Old Town was filled with music, celebration and the rich bittersweet scent of wine Saturday evening. It was also filled with dragons, a skeleton, a pirate ship and a giant frog playing the guitar.

Art-enthusiasts and midsummer revelers gathered to celebrate Old Town’s Festival of the Sun, and also to view and bid on the finished products of the third annual Scrapfest competition. After two weeks of hard work and preparation from each of the participating teams, the 18 statues, composed completely of recycled scrap metal, were proudly on display for everyone to enjoy. Each team was as unique as the metal creations, ranging from families to artists, to car mechanics, welders and even artisan blacksmiths.

Judges evaluated each of the sculptures and awarded prizes to the top three creations. Public participation and opinion also played a role in recognizing exceptional craftsmanship and creativity with the people’s choice award.

The third place winner was Team Redhead with their creative and interactive musicle sculpture. It featured various gongs and chimes along with handheld metal drumsticks and wire brushes, which the audience was encouraged to use. The second place award was given to team Arc-angels for their eight foot tall guitar-playing, cigar-smoking human skeleton. This swinging skelly was not only popular with the judges, but with the public as well- it also won the voting ballots and received the people’s choice award.

The coveted first place award was given to Philip Depeal and Jack Oliver II of the team called We-Art-Junk for their intricate pirate ship, which was under attack and held in the clutches of the many arms of a vicious sea monster.

The time and effort that went into making this first rate ship were tremendous. “We got about 200 man hours into building it, and a lot of late nights,” said Depeal.

They took a unique approach to building their sculpture, focusing on the same techniques and style in which real boat would be made, from the framing of the body all the way up to the masts. “He knows a lot about boats, so Jack here made sure it was accurate,” Depeal added proudly as he admired their handiwork.

With 18 participating teams and an estimation of more than 10,000 viewers, this was the largest turnout yet for a Scrapfest, and next year the attendance is expected to grow even more.

Although they were Scrapfest rookies at the beginning of the competition, Depeal and Oliver are now seasoned sailors, and they’ve got a taste for more.

Depeal was eager to let everyone know,“This was our very first year participating, and we’ll be back!”